Dear friends,

Following you can find a report on the amazing event in Tel Aviv that was organized by the Women Forum of WAC-Maan on IWD.

See also the picture in Labourstart ME site

Regards

Assaf Adiv National Coordinator

Arab and Jewish Women March for Jobs in Tel Aviv

On Women’s International Day, March 8th hundreds of WAC’s Arab female agricultural workers marched in the midst of Tel Aviv, demanding their right to work. Delegates of other female and social organizations joined the march.

Arab women in Israel are at the bottom of the social ladder. Only a fifth of them work. Due to the lack of job opportunities, discrimination, and a low level of education, they remain at the margins, doomed to poverty. Small wonder two of every three Arab children in Israel are below the poverty line. The government backed policy of importing cheap workers from deprive Arab women of what little job opportunities they had.

The march terminated with a street rally, moderated by Michal Schwartz, WAC’s coordinator of women affairs. The rally was endorsed by representatives of other women forums and social organizations. The first speaker was Wafa Tiara, a former agricultural worker and at present an organizer of WAC, who called women workers to join WAC and create a genuine grass root trade union with a strong women’s movement in it.

She was followed by Asma Aghbaria-Zahalka, among the founders of WAC, a former ODA nominee to head the Workers’ Party, and a present nominee for the Tel Aviv municipality elections. “We are building a strong social working class power, male and female, Arabs and Jews, which presents an alternative to the present racist, chauvinist and extreme religious currents. We are struggling for life, for our future”, said Asma Aghbaria-Zahalka.

Dr. Erela Shadmi, a veteran peace activist and a feminist, said that the spirit of this march and the women of WAC are the true continuation of the historic women’s struggles from the 19th century who originated the Women’s Day. She called the WAC women to take lead of the women’s movement in Israel. She was followed by Nurit Hajaj, the coordination of the Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow New Discourse. Hajaj pointed out, that many Tel Aviv residents must have been taken aback at first glance, due to the stereotypic idea that Arabs only raise extremist and fanatic demands. Yet this demonstration highlighted a different picture all together; Poet Yudit Shahar congratulated the women for the courage to demonstrate in Tel Aviv, and read her poem It is me who is speaking.

The platform included also Shevi Korzen from the Hotline for Migrant Workers who dedicated her speech to the courageous women migrant workers who leave their families in the Philippines or Nepal to earn a living. “They probably can’t be with us today because they are spending their time taking care of the elderly and sick in Israel”.

Speaking to the crowd were also Orna Meri-Esh from Isha Leisha, a feminist coalition in Haifa; Yana Ziferblat from the Coalition of Women for Peace; and Esther Eilam, one of the founders of the feminist movement in Israel, and today a leader of “Sister – for Women in Israel”.

At the same time, hundreds visited a nearby Bread and Roses exhibition whose revenues will be dedicated to WAC’s agricultural female workers. The Israeli First TV Channel highlighted the demonstration in the news edition that night.